What Is a Writer and How Does a Writer Become an Author?



By Wendy C Allen

Important:

Fraudulent sites are impersonating Wendy Christine Allen.

  • The ONLY official website for Wendy Christine Allen is www.eelkat.com

Fraudulent social media accounts, particularly on Reddit and FaceBook are impersonating Wendy Christine Allen.

  • The ONLY official social media accounts for Wendy Christine Allen are listed in the footer here at www.eelkat.com


Any websites and accounts you find online that are NOT on this list are NOT Wendy Christine Allen

While you are here, please take the time to read this:

Who is Tod Murphy? 

Do you know who this woman is?

She might be the woman who murdered my son. 

What is a writer?

What is the difference between a writer and an author?

What is a writer and how does a writer become an author?

These are incredibly common questions, and equates for one of the single most asked questions I receive.

Publishing is the difference between a writer and an author. A writer is anyone who writes, while an author is a writer who publishes what they write. Elsewhere I have explained how you can become a writer. In this section I will explore the various options you will face on your path to becoming an author. But first let's see how I came to write this.

This article all started because I was asked a very simple question. I was asked it by several people over the course of several years. Each asker had their own spin on the question, each telling a different tale of how they came to think of it. What is a writer and what publishing methods do writers use to become authors?

Most question askers are looking to become writers when they ask me this. They tell me of hopes and dreams and of one day making millions off their bestselling novel. Because their stories were always the same, I think I’ll draw on one story which was quite different, not asked by someone looking to become an author, but rather asked by someone looking to discredit a self-published author.

One particularly mean spirited woman sent me a very long and angry letter filled with hatred for her next door neighbor, explaining that her neighbor “lived on section 8, couldn’t hold down a real job, ONLY had an associate's degree, and claimed to be a writer, but she knew the neighbor was not a writer because, all of his novels were self published and only sold on Amazon.” She railed on for several pages. I replied to ask her why it mattered the guy was on section 8 and she replied back that “only lazy deadbeat bums get section 8 not published authors and real authors don't self publish their books on Amazon”.

Hmmm. I replied back to tell her that 78% of the families currently living on section-8 got there from either a hurricane, a tornado, or a forest fire, and asked how she knew the guy could not hold down a job. She replied back to say that “well he’s a writer!”

I asked what that meant, pointing out that I too was a writer. She replied with “well writing is not a real job!” I asked her if she read newspapers, watched TV or movies, read magazines or novels or college text books”.

She said “yes, but those were written by real writers, published authors, making real money, they don’t live in section 8 and they all have Masters Degrees and they NEVER self-publish their books”.

I replied back to tell her that 84% of all traditionally published writers do not make enough on royalties to reach minimum wage and work 2 part time jobs in addition to writing, and contrary to popular myth, there are far greater famous self-published authors than there are famous traditionally published authors. In fact very few authors before 1968 were traditional published, and most traditional publishing houses were not even founded until the early 1980s.

The method of publishing DOES NOT determine if a person is a writer or an author. The publishing method has nothing to do with it at all.

Prior to 1983 nearly all college textbooks were self published, and outside of Harlequin Romance novels and sci-fi pulp magazines, there was very little fiction traditionally published either. The boom to leave vanity press and self-publishing behind and pursue big house aka traditional publishing for works of fiction did not start until 1982. Clearly she had no clue the history of the publishing industry.

I asked her what the point of contacting me was, what exactly did she want to know, what answer was she seeking?

She replied “I want to know what a writer is. What is the difference between a writer and an author? He says he’s a writer, but I know he’s not because I have a Master’s Degree in English and he only has an Associates Degree.”

Master’s vs Associates seemed rather pointless to me, so I asked why she brought it up. She said “Well, ALL published authors have Masters Degrees in English and Journalism.”

Hmmmm. Odd I can’t think of a single famous published author who has either, I said to her, adding that education has nothing to do with a person is a writer or not, nor does living conditions, heck I was homeless for 7 years and I never let that stop me from writing!

What is the difference between a writer and an author?

What is a writer and how does a writer become an author?

What makes a person a writer and how does a writer become a published author?

A writer, simply put is one who writes. Everyone who writes on a regular basis is considered a writer whether or not they have ever been published.

Writers can mean those who write for newspapers or those who write fiction, those who write for medical journals, or those who write TV sitcom scripts, heck, even a kid jotting down thoughts in their diary is a writer. They are all writers because they all physically write things down. They all get Writer's Block. That is a very general description, I know, but I have to start somewhere, don’t I?

If I was to start detailing all of them, I'd have to write an encyclopedia on the subject, so, for the sake of simplicity, we will assume, in this article, that a writer is one who writes fiction in novel or short story format.

Now, back to the question: What is a writer?

A writer is someone who writes, probably every day or nearly so. Usually they feel compelled to write, as though they have no control over it. It is as though they will die if they cannot write something down. Their every fiber burns with the sensation, the uncontrollable passion, that they must put words to paper in order to survive. They feel every emotion their characters feel: the love, the pain, the horror, the fear, the anxiety, and the lust for adventure. They not only feel their characters, they become their characters. Everything in life sparks a new story idea. They awake at night from their sleep to jot down in notebooks. They pull their car off the road to write down ideas on the edges of maps. They are obsessed with the fever that is known as writing. That is what it means to be a writer.

But how does this writer become an author?

An author however, is generally perceived as a writer who has been published. For some writers, it is enough that they write, publishing their work is not their goal. For most writers, however, the goal is to become a published author. The trick is being published. You have many options. Which one should you choose?

Let's take a look at the various publishing methods you can use for your book:





or head to:

| | | | |





What Is This Site?

I'm an author. This is an author home page. It's about me, my life, my books, my hobbies, my home town, and anything else that applies to me and my life. 

Since starting my writing career in 1978, I have written 130+ novels, 2,000+ short stories, 6,000+ non-fiction articles (ALL are found on this site), a few dozen stage plays, 12,000+ blog posts, and a few comic book scripts for Disney's Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck (I only worked for Disney one year (in 2005) and only wrote a few stories for their Danish comic books).

NOTE: I ONLY write the Quaraun series (aka The Twighlight Manor series aka The Adventures of Quaraun the Insane). In recent years there has been an issue with impersonators trying to pass books off as written by me, notably several non-fiction and Erotica books. I write neither nonfiction nor Erotica.

ALL of my books and their cover arts are listed on my website here. Beware of any books you find claiming to be me. If the books are NOT listed here on my website, they are NOT my books.

In fiction works, I specialize in Weird/Bizarro Tales set in 40th century CyberPunk-Quasi Medieval, Cozy Dark Fantasy and Science Fiction worlds featuring an intersex Elf and his Faerie husband main characters.  I DO NOT WRITE ANY OTHER SERIES - THIS SERIES IS THE ONLY ONE I WRITE.

Non-fiction (found ONLY here on my site) is daily updates of events in my life, and how-tos on how I write my novels.

I DO NOT write Erotica.

I DO NOT write books with HUMAN characters.

The Erotica books and books with Human characters, that you are finding, are written by scammers trying to impersonate me.

There is an ongoing FBI investigation into this matter. If you find any such books, please report them to FBI Agent Andy Drewer @207–774–9322

The FBI believes the people behind the impersonation accounts showing up, are relatives of the woman who murdered my son.

People always ask why I have a video recorder running 24/7. Watch these 4 videos of The Scarborough Walmart.


 I have a video recorder running 24/7. Because this parking lot is where I was attacked a second time by the woman who crippled me with the golf club at Southern Maine Community College in 2013 (who also murdered my 8-month-old son at the same time) this is the location of her 2nd attack,  the July 2016 attack with a shopping cart, the attack that left me in a wheelchair and despite over 200 "security cameras" and signs saying there are cameras in use... the police did not find even ONE actual REAL camera. Every "security camera" on this building and parking lot was ALL fake "dummy cameras" and that is why there is no video footage of my son's murderer. 

I started carrying a camera 24/7 the very next day after Scarborough police informed me they could not identify the blonde woman who attacked me or her gold Volvo 240GL station wagon, because EVERY CAMERA at this store's parking lot was an empty case with no real camera inside it. My son would be 12 years old this Christmas 2025, and his murderer walks free, still unidentified because this parking lot did not have real cameras. 

Those things that look like cameras on the building and light poles, are fake, according to the Scarborough Police Department. That is why I have a camera running 24/7, because my son's killer walks free because there was no camera the day we were attacked.


While you are here, please take the time to read this:

Who is Tod Murphy? 

Do you know who this woman is? She might be the woman who murdered my son. 

146 Portland Ave, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is NOT FOR SALE.

And I'm sick of real estate agents who are too incompetent to research land ownership before they show up to stick a for sale sign in my yard.

The fact of the matter is, my son was murdered in 2013, and the friends and family of the murderer think it is funny to keep ILLEGALLY listing my land for sale, because apparently their child murdering bitch friend didn't hurt me enough by crippling me with a golf club, ripping my baby out of my 8 month pregnant belly and beating his brains out on the ground with a golf club.

Also, her friends and family like to gaslight me by doxing me on ufo and alien abduction forums, while pretending to be me, and trying to make it look like I believe in ufos or aliens, even though I think people who believe in ufos are raving lunatics and people who claim to be alien abductees are crazy. 

Worse, they've also taken to harassing my WW2 vet homeless friend, by calling HIM an alien, demon, or cryptid and sending alien crazy ufo nutjobs at try to "catch him".

So, yeah, my son was murdered and the murder's friends and family endlessly harass me, my friends, and my family both online and offline, and I'm not happy with it at all.

There is an ongoing FBI investigation into this matter.

The FBI is looking for information into:

  1. identifying my son's murderer, 
  2. identifying the scammers who listed my land for sale, 
  3. identifying the impersonators who pretend to be me both online and offline, 
  4. the harassers who are harassing the homeless man and sending the UFO nuts to harass him... 
  • If ANYONE tells you 146 Portland Ave Old Orchard Beach, Maine is for sale:, please report them to FBI Agent Andy Drewer @207–774–9322
  • If ANYONE tells you I believe in aliens, demons, or UFOS, please report them to FBI Agent Andy Drewer @207–774–9322
  • If ANYONE tells you my homeless friend is an alien, a demon, a cryptid, or named Etiole for sale:, please report them to FBI Agent Andy Drewer @207–774–9322


I'm going to repeat it because I'm tired of people showing up and making offers:

146 Portland Ave, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is NOT FOR SALE.

There is NO ONE who has authorization to use my land.

NO ONE.

Not my mother.

Not my father.

Not Ben.

Not my mother’s Atwater relatives.

No one.

If ANY ONE hires you to do ANYTHING on my land, know that you are doing it ILLEGALLY and WITHOUT my knowledge or permission.

My mother has ZERO legal right to hire you to do anything at 146 Portland Ave. Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

My father has ZERO legal right to hire you to do anything at 146 Portland Ave. Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Ben has ZERO legal right to hire you to do anything at 146 Portland Ave. Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

My mother’s Atwater relatives have ZERO legal right to hire you to do anything at 146 Portland Ave. Old Orchard Beach, Maine.




While you are here, please take the time to read this:

Who is Tod Murphy? 

Do you know who this woman is? She might be the woman who murdered my son. 




| Home | Index |



How did you build your audience?
Not online, that's for sure.
aka How to sell ten million books
aka How I sold ten million books.



Want to write like I do? You want this page: Writing Mindset Shift & Lester Dent vs Kishotenketsu w/Thoughts on Being one of Dr. Lindstrom's 200 PenPal Students (NaNoWriMo & NovNov 2025)




The Park Bench Method of Writing

(just the article)

or

The Park Bench Method of Writing

(with the list of 10k writing prompts - takes a LONG TIME to load - SEVERAL MINUTES!)



Why I am not proud of Disability Pride Month.
In fact, I think it’s deplorable and downright offensive.



I Think UFO and Alien Believers Are Weird Here's Why...




Does every writer have to deal with this shit?







Thank you for stopping by and have a nice day! ꧁✨🌸🔮🦄🔮🌸✨꧂

And if it’s your birthday today: ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐꧁ᴴᵃᵖᵖʸ☆ᵇⁱʳᵗʰᵈᵃʸ꧂🤍🎀🧸🌷🍭

Wendy Christine Allen 🌸💖🦄 aka EelKat 🧿💛🔮👻
eelkat_red_scarf.jpg








Get an email whenever Wendy Christine Allen 🌸💖🦄 aka EelKat 🧿💛🔮👻 publishes on Medium.

I also write on these locations: | Amazon | Blogger | GumRoad | Medium | Notd | OnlyFans | Tumblr | Vocal |